Hello, fellow astrology & hip-hop enthusiasts. Welcome to the inaugural post of my ongoing blog series, in which I will be using a variety of different Hellenistic & medieval Islamicate astrology techniques to analyze the nativities of hip-hop artists. I want to do this not only to showcase the efficacy of the Afro-Asiatic traditional techniques, but to honor the culture that I’ve held such admiration & reverence for. Hopefully, all aspects of those intentions seep through my writing & make themselves visible to you all as well. Without any further ado, let us commence the series!
Dana Elaine Owens was born on March 18th, 1970 in Newark, New Jersey. Since her debut on the hip-hop scene in 1989 as Queen Latifah, Dana has proceeded to break barriers & blaze trails for women in the culture. She has also managed to cement herself in cinema as a supremely talented actress via iconic performances across a plethora of movies & television series. On top of that, Latifah has established herself as a shrewd businesswoman, as well as a devoted philanthropist. It is evident that this incredible woman was destined to leave several marks on the world. Let us leap into the nativity!
Queen Latifah’s nativity
We begin by looking at her Moon, which happens to be in the fiery Leo. Now, this would indicate an individual who is boisterous, bold, & enjoys being the locus of attention ; a natural performer with an air of prominence. In addition to this I will note that we find our first indicator of fame, as Leo is also classified as both a blessed & royal sign ; that would indicate that Latifah comes to be linked to famed & prominent individuals as a result of her profession. It also aligns with the Queen Latifah moniker itself, one of several indicators of royalty. I would also like to direct your attention to the bound ruler of the Moon, which is Saturn. Paraphrasing from Dr. Olomi’s translation of Junawadi’s own translation of the bounds (which you can find on his Patreon), the Moon in the bounds of Saturn can indicate that an individual will suffer great difficulties & all manner of delay, but will accumulate wealth and establish a legacy that will allow their family to live in enduring esteem. Indeed, Queen Latifah had been through much in her youth – she was a child of divorce, lost a sibling to injuries from a motorcycle crash, had been the target of a carjacking, & battled various forms misogynoir and homophobia all before she’d been 30 years old. In spite of the many obstacles & tribulations in her life, Latifah powered on to become one of the most prolific creatives with a plethora of accolades.
However, the Moon is also an indicator of one’s mother, especially when in the 4th house, and in Leo it would mean that the mother was some kind of actor or performer. Indeed, Latifah’s mother, the late Rita Owens was an actress herself. Ms. Rita played a catalytic role in Latifah’s development, working as a teacher at the high school that Latifah attended. In particular, she also invited the late Mark James, known as DJ Mark the 45 King, to DJ at a school dance. Latifah encountered him there, & the two linking up along with several other musicians led to the creation of the Flava Unit, which she grew from a collective, to a label, & then a production company. She also acted alongside Latifah in the groundbreaking black sitcom Living Single in the 90s, appearing as Latifah’s character’s mother there as well.
We can also draw some more information from Ms. Rita Owens here. The Moon is enclosed by the malefics in this nativity – it is flowing apart from Saturn (square) and immediately contacting Mars afterwards (square). The Moon is in the bounds of Venus, which is exiled, contrary to sect, & in the 12th house. That same Venus also governs the 6th house of the nativity, which deals with infirmities & afflictions. Now if we look at the Lot of Fortune briefly, we will see that it is in the sign of Virgo. The Lot of Fortune indicates the various circumstances & events that occur to an individual throughout the course of their life – it bears a resemblance to what we refer to as destiny. With that in mind, we will rotate the chart to make Fortune the Ascendant, we can see that would place the Moon in Leo in the 12th house from Fortune. The 12th house is tied to matters of suffering, which includes chronic illnesses. Saturn in the context of afflictions also signifies chronic / long-lasting ones. Ms. Rita dealt with schleroderma, an autoimmune disease that caused scar tissue build-up in her lungs. Compounding that, she suffered from pulmonary hypertension, which also affected her lungs & impacted her ability to breathe. The Moon itself is tied to the lungs, which further drives the difficulty of the configuration home.
Next, we will observe the lunar mansion. At the natal degree of 7°33’ Leo, this places the Moon in the lunar mansion of Jabah. Citing Dr. Olomi’s translation of what Abu Ma’shar & Al-Biruni say about this lunar mansion :
If Dana Elaine Owens possesses greatness, it for sure is displayed through her various talents. She is a skilled singer, rapper, actress, communicator, and exceptionally savvy businesswoman. It is primarily through her musical talents that she was able to garner renown, but her capabilities as an actress & in navigating business are what arguably truly thrust her into the general American mainstream culture. In terms of slyness & struggles with deception, both are attributes that are supported throughout her nativity, though we will delve into those very shortly. Latifah’s capacity for generosity is also easy to see, as her numerous efforts for charity have been noted throughout her career ; most notably, in memory of her deceased brother Lancelot Owens, Queen Latifah & her mother Rita Owens established the Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation, a college scholarship fund organization that targets underserved & economically disadvantaged youth in the New York tri-state area. She still serves as chairman of that organization in current day.
Next, we look at the Moon’s other subdivisions. The Moon’s nawbahra, or 9th part, will signify the inclinations of an individual’s soul. The Moon’s dodecatemoria , or 12th part, adds another layer of nuance to the celestial body’s indications for the individual. The nawbahra of the Moon in Latifah’s nativity is Mercury. Now, Mercury in the position of nawbahra gives us a basis to build these inclinations upon ; it is a planet that signifies knowledge, learning, finances, writing, poetry, business & communication.
– First we look at the location of Mercury, which is Pisces, the 11th house. In the 11th house, we would be able to see that Latifah inclines to matters of community, honorable endeavors, & ambition.
– Then we look to the houses that are governed by Mercury. These would be Gemini, the 2nd house, and Virgo, the 5th house. We would our prior inclinations to include the matters of both of those houses – the 2nd house would add those of assets & properties, and the 5th house would include those of children, creative endeavors, and gifts & donations.
So right away, we can see that some subjects are adjacent or recurring : in all, this tells us that Queen Latifah is an ambitious person by nature, one who endeavors to be honored & honors others as well. She is drawn to all manner of creative expression, particularly that of writing. That is obvious in Latifah’s foundational profession as a hip-hop artist / rapper – a highly Mercurial artform – but she is also a supremely talented singer & actress as well, as we have previously established. In regards to children, gifts, & donations we have the aforementioned Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation, which principally serves high school students. In addition to that Queen Latifah is a well-documented philanthropist & entrepreneur, having established organizations such as The Queen Collective, a program that funds women of color & nonbinary filmmakers, and her signature production company Flava Unit Entertainment, which produces much content that centers women of color as well as hip-hop.
The Moon’s dodecatemoria lands in Scorpio, a Mars-ruled sign. This emphasizes Latifah’s boldness, as well as an impulsive streak within her. A sharp tongue is also highlighted here, which almost goes without saying if you’ve followed Latifah throughout her musical career. The dodecatemoria of Scorpio also portends a tendency to be private, however, & I find this to be further indicated by Saturn’s conjunction to Mars – the ruler of this dodecatemoria. Despite possessing massive levels of renown & being at the height of visibility, Queen Latifah keeps the facets of her personal life close to her chest at all times. Interestingly, Scorpio also speaks to a mind that inclines to matters of the occult & religion – the latter of which is a recurring motif in Latifah’s life, something that we will expand on in the next post in this nativity breakdown series.
Still looking at the dodecatemoria of the Moon, we see that Scorpio is the 7th house of the nativity. The 7th house encompasses topics of relationships, sex, marriage, partnerships, matters of commerce & all manner of opposition to say the least. I would take this, in Mars-ruled Scorpio, on its face to indicate that Latifah is a naturally competitive individual. I also interpret this as Latifah being someone who is deeply concerned with matters of love & sex but has contended with conflict & struggle in those areas. Indeed, the Moon is besieged, & Queen Latifah has addressed some of those difficulties in tracks like her magnum opus *U.N.I.T.Y*. Adding testimony to this would be that in the nativity, Mars & Venus are both in their exile (detriment) & rule one another, sharing generosity because they don’t withess one another. Venus, as the indicator of relationships & sex itself is also in the 12th house, which has to do with hidden enemies & matters of suffering. Those themes seem intersect to a degree within Latifah’s life.
Dana Elaine Owens is such a talented & lauded individual that throughout the process of researching information of her life, I have found myself in awe of just how prominent she has been in the entertainment industry. We will be proceeding to dig a bit deeper in the delineation of her character in the next post, by looking at her Ascendant & the other markers & hidden parts of her soul. I only seek to do her character justice & bring her honor, as well as highlight the profundity of information that the traditional techniques that I employ are capable of illuminating. If you have made it this far, I appreciate you taking the time to read this & hope that you will join me for the next part of this analysis.
The Eccentric Directive 
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